Human-Centered Ambient and Wearable Sensing for Automated Monitoring in Dementia Care: A Scoping Review

TL;DR

This scoping review examines wearable and ambient sensing technologies for dementia care, highlighting design principles, ethical considerations, and future opportunities to improve monitoring while supporting autonomy and privacy.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive mapping of recent sensing studies, identifying key design principles and gaps to guide future development in dementia monitoring technologies.

Findings

Five key implementation principles for sensing systems.

Emphasis on human-centered, personalized, and privacy-aware design.

Identification of gaps and opportunities in current sensing technologies.

Abstract

We conducted a scoping review to map the rapidly evolving landscape of wearable and ambient sensing technologies for monitoring people with dementia across home and institutional settings. We analyzed empirical sensing studies (2015-2025) to identify and inform future technical and human-centered design requirements. Five key implementation principles emerge: (1) human-centered design involving all stakeholders to augment rather than replace caregivers; (2) personalized, adaptable solutions that support autonomy across settings and severity levels instead of standardized approaches; (3) integration with existing workflows with adequate training and support; (4) proactive privacy and consent considerations, especially for ambient monitoring of residents and caregivers; and (5) cost-effective, ethical, equitable, scalable solutions with quantifiable outcomes. This paper identifies gaps, trends and opportunities for developing sensing systems that address the complex challenges, while enhancing automation and autonomy, in dementia care.